Not applicable.
Not applicable.
Not applicable.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of specialized supports in general and in particular to Christmas tree stands.
2. Description of Related Art
As can be seen by reference to the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,771,260; 3,337,169; 5,702,086; and 6,023,882, the prior art is replete with myriad and diverse Christmas tree stand constructions.
While all of the aforementioned prior art constructions are more than adequate for the basic purpose and function for which they have been specifically designed, they are uniformly deficient with respect to their failure to provide a simple, efficient, and practical Christmas tree stand construction that serves a dual purpose wherein the secondary purpose can be used to amuse and entertain children throughout the year.
Unfortunately, virtually every other Christmas tree stand is limited in use to the holiday season and spends the vast majority of their useful lives occupying valuable storage space for prolonged periods of time.
As a consequence of the foregoing situation, there has existed a longstanding need for people who own Christmas tree stands for a new and improved type of Christmas tree stand construction that can fulfill a different and useful role on a year round basis while also functioning as a Christmas tree stand during the holiday season.
Briefly stated, the Christmas tree stand construction that forms the basis of the present invention comprises in general a housing unit, a receptacle unit and an illumination unit.
As will be explained in greater detail further on in the specification, the housing unit includes a housing member in the shape of a miniature house having front and rear walls and a pair of opposed sidewalls as well as a roof having an enlarged chimney provided with a central opening dimensioned to receive the trunk of either an artificial or cut live Christmas tree; wherein, the chimney is further provided with a plurality of peripheral apertures adapted to receive a plurality of fastening elements for supporting the trunk in an upright fashion.
In addition, the stand construction includes a receptacle unit in the form of an enlarged fluid reservoir formed within the interior of the housing member in the instance of a live tree or in the form of a cup shaped receptacle element which is disposed within the chimney to support the bottom of the trunk of an artificial Christmas tree.
Furthermore, the stand construction includes an illumination unit in the form of a light bulb disposed in the interior of the housing member for the purpose of illuminating miniature furnishings and accessories contained therein.